Mordred

by Ed RivadaviaIn the late '80s, San Francisco's Mordred was one of the first bands associated with the brief but extremely media-hyped stylistic fad called funk metal. The band never truly distinguished themselves amongst the many thrash contenders of the period, however, and much like their funk metal niche, quickly faded away into obscurity. Originating in the exciting Bay Area thrash metal scene, Mordred included vocalist Scott Holderby, guitarists Danny White and J. Taffer, bassist Art Liboon, and drummer Gannon Hall. While their precise style of power metal riffing was no different from that of other Bay Area stars such as Testament and Forbidden, the band distinguished themselves thanks to Liboon's uncommonly upfront bass work and a tentative flirtation with funk. In fact, their 1989 debut, Fools Game, contained a cover of Rick James' funk classic "Superfreak," featuring scratches courtesy of DJ Aaron (Pause) Vaughn. After replacing Taffer with guitarist James Sanguinetti and making Vaughn a full-time member, the band decided to embrace their funk interests for their next, and perhaps best work, 1991's In This Life. But even as it spawned a minor hit in metal circles with "Falling Away," tensions were building within the band, live reviews were mixed, and 1992's Visions EP marked the beginning of the end. Vocalist Scott Holderby was sacked (replaced by Paul Kimball) and the band recorded one more album, 1994's The Next Room (which saw them back-pedaling into a more mainstream metal approach), before splitting up.